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Acupuncture to improve fertility

by Holly Carling/Doctor of Oriental Medicine
| August 13, 2014 9:00 PM

Acupuncture to improve fertility and the chance of having a healthy baby is not new. It is one of the oldest fertility treatments ever. It has been practiced for thousands of years. It still is, because it works.

Infertility is not simple. There are many reasons why you can't conceive, and although conventional doctors look at several of the reasons, there are many that are difficult to delineate via lab tests or exploratory surgery. That's where acupuncture and naturopathy come in. Generally, when the person has gone through substantial emotional and financial investments towards medicalized fertility treatments, and finds they are not working, is when they start looking around for other answers.

But the right questions have to be asked. Beyond the physical and hormonal aspects of fertility, what are other causes? This question extends to the inability to keep a pregnancy, as miscarriages can be just as emotionally crushing as well.

Many times the answer is multi-faceted. Acupuncturists look at fertility, or the lack thereof, with different eyes. We look at the tongue, details about the color and flow of blood during the menstrual cycle (and not just the usual suspects!), the pulse, and other physical or functional attributes. We look at biological, nourishment, environmental, and physical elements, as well as lifestyle habits. Patients are listened to and treated as individuals with unique factors that contribute to infertility.

But does acupuncture alone work? Dr. Raymond Chang, director of Meridian Medical, is a medical doctor who apprenticed in China to combine conventional medicine with acupuncture. He told WebMD that, "Acupuncture stimulates egg function without the use of fertility medications. When you compare the pregnancy rates for an egg-producing drug such as Clomid to acupuncture alone, the rates are equal - 50 percent chance of pregnancy in three months for general patients." The nice part about acupuncture is that there are not the side effects. This was acupuncture alone. When combined with nutrition and herbal medicine, the results increase exponentially.

Acupuncture can also be used in conjunction with conventional infertility therapies. A study done in Denmark found that, "Acupuncture administered on the day of ET (embryo transfer) significantly improves the reproductive outcome in women undergoing IVF or ICSI treatment for infertility. The rates of positive pregnancy tests, clinical pregnancies, and ongoing pregnancy or delivery were all significantly higher than those in the control group." This is because certain neurotransmitters are released during acupuncture that affect pituitary gonadotropin secretion, ovarian follicular growth, fertility, and ovulation.

By creating a healthy reproductive environment, the chances of getting pregnant increase. There is no magic pill, no one time treatment, no 100 percent guarantee. However, addressing the multiplicity of factors involved, and using a multi-dimensional approach such as acupuncture and nutritional therapy, puts the odds of successful conception back with the couple.

Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with more than 32 years of experience. Carling is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health-care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d'Alene clinic. Visit Carling's website at www.vitalhealthandfitness.com to learn more about Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. Carling can be reached at (208) 765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.